On 09/21/2008, in post# 96, I wrote . . .
"I also think they get a bad rap. My '94 has been the 'best' MB and cheapest to maintain of all MBs I've owned."

Today, 6/6/2018 . . . it's still true! Wonderful car . . . runs like new. :)
The only thing that needs 'fixing' is the lumbar 'balloon' in the drivers seat. Not bad for 10 years later, wouldn't you agree??

I have a 1995 S320 with 200k on it. Runs great, still does daily driver duty like it was nothing.

best cars I ever bought were w126 diesel,and 99 s320

I can't believe this thread is still alive its 14 years old!

Right in time, I'm slowly looking for a later S320.

Funny, I've seen this thread for years lol, and never paid any attention to it.
Buuuttt call it getting older or wiser or what have you, the w140 has finally started to catch my eye so I was google'ing around about such as well.

I have something going wrong every 3K on my 95 E320 cabriolet. I honestly have to say it's the most troublesome car I've owned. Most of the problems are related to the body electricals. It's reached a point where I ignore the problems that don't directly affect drivability.

I went to the top of the mountain and bought a '97 CL600 with 44K on it two years ago. Car had been dealer maintained for the first 15 years, changed hands then after 5 years, sold to me. I spent about 6K in "make up" maintenance. For instance, it required 12 new coils at $130 ea (dealer), $60 ea (Amazon), new plugs a MAF, engine mounts, new Interstate 6 year battery, trans service with new connector (weeping ATF fluid), new spheres and service the hydraulic system for the self leveling, 4 new Continental Extreme Contact tires, front end alignment and other things that were ignored. Having done all of that I took a 3600 mile road trip up the West Coast, across to Wyoming, back through Idaho, Nevada and home. Car was a dream and never missed a stroke. I would have no fears of driving it cross country. Only negative was the gas mileage which doesn't bother me. I got 20 MPG for the whole trip. It has had nothing since then in repairs except a new front bumper and a wiring harness. Yes, a harness. They replaced everything in '96 EXCEPT six coax cables made by the OLD company. Keep that in mind when you think you've dodged the bad harness bullet.
And in closing, my kids will dig a hole out in the desert, set my body in the drivers seat, and bury me to drive my GREAT car for all eternity!!:D

I have a 96' S500 w/210k + miles that I've owned for 12 years and driven daily with a smile on my face.

The term "they don't build them like that anymore" was penned for this chassis. These are heavy, solid luxury cars (that will hustle faster than you think when needed) and like any other old tech machine, if you don't keep up with the little things, you will be more annoyed than happy.

The one achilles heal is the evaporator. It's an expensive job and I wouldn't buy a W140 that didn't have a written record of replacement. Here in Florida, W140's are becoming less common because people won't spend the money for an evaporator change and they get tired of cruising with the windows down in the summer heat.

I believe the engine harness concern was addressed on face lift cars (96' and later), but that would also be an item to inspect if looking at an early car.

The M119 engine is solid. The only engine item I've had was the need to swap out plastic cam oilers for the aluminum ones. 210k miles, no oil burn, quiet, plenty of power, what's not to like?

I replaced my SLS rear struts & spheres at 100K and I still can't figure out why people spend so much to bypass this system as this contributes to the stellar ride.

I could go on, but to answer the question by the original poster, the answer is "no".

I bought my S320 just short of 2 years ago. Like all used cars how it will be in the long term is a funtion of how it was cared for early on. Minw was a 1 owner car that was serviced at the dealer 3 to 4 times a year. It was loved. It now has over 200k miles on it and drives great. All I’ve done is coils/plugs, front brakes, and oil changes using the same oil it has always had. Everyone that rides in the car is amazed that it is old enough to vote and looks and drives as well as it does.

That is what I was thinking as well. lol. I thought it looked familiar.

Well I had to sell my '93 400SEL. It was a super nice car, 1-former owner, super well maintained/garaged. I absolutely loved that car, but had some electrical gremlins I could never figure out. The check engine light was on, never could figure out why and the radio would stop playing if you turned on the turn signal. I even had a MB expert mechanic check it and he could not figure it out. The A/C suddenly went out, even after the PO had literally spent $4,000 on getting it repaired before with a new compressor, evaporator, blower, etc - all that had to be replaced when the dash was removed. The PO also had new valve cover gaskets put on about 2 years before I bought it and they were already leaking again.

It was where it was costing me a fortune to operate, but I loved the car. It was so smooth and quiet. It could have got me in trouble though, I mean I could be going 95 mph on the freeway and not even know it. 95 mph felt like 65 mph.

I could not even give the car away when I advertised to sell it. I finally sold it to a gentlemen from Atlanta who loved it. He rode the bus up from Atlanta and drove it back home. I paid $3500 for it, sold it for $2000, so it was big loss on it. He called me 2 hours from his home and said it had overheated on the freeway and was smoking from underneath. Not sure what happened, as I never had any issues like that with it unless he was running at a high speed and the valve covers had started leaking worse.

I never heard from him again, but I hope he got the bugs worked out and it made a good car for him... but there is a chance it ended up in a salvage yard somewhere. :(

With that said, I have had much better service out of my '88 W126 (300SEL), which I still own. Have not driven her much over the last couple of years, but slowly trying to get her back on the road, though she does not handle or ride near as well as my old W140 did - nor as fast, actually it is a slug in comparison. :D

Yes, this thread is still alive and relevant now! I have a 95 S320 with 287K miles and overall it has been a great car! We have owned it since 1997 - 2nd owner, and have always performed the maintenance at the dealer, except for the last six years - when I started doing most things myself. Yes, the main wiring harness (top one) was replaced, as well as the evap coil about 15 years ago; no problems with either one since.
However, just recently I had the a remanufactured transmission installed after reverse went out. Found one at Sun Valley Merc Transmissions in LA area. During this work, discovered that the lower engine wiring harness was missing most of the insulation - causing the oil pressure sensor to quit working. When the transmission is removed they had to move the lower harness and probably caused more damage to the already failing insulation on the wiring. I have found a new OEM harness for about $330 and am waiting on it now. Car is still operable, and my wife will NOT part with it! So, we are keeping it till - who knows when!

I am searching for information about replacing the lower wiring harness myself. If anyone have any tips, I would sure appreciate it!

son bought me a power buffer,tried some today,but really need lessons to buff whole car

Every time this thread comes up I get a sick feeling in my stomach! I sold my S350 in 2009 for nearly nothing. It was perfect except the diesel engine had started using oil. About 1 qt every 250 miles! I should have put an engine in it. Purchased it brand new and maintained it meticulously. Smoothest riding car I have ever had. No road noise. If only I could go back.



http://www.oldsouthphotography.net/e300/s350.jpg

Oh man. I have to say I believe if I had to boil it down to 1 all time favorite MB it would be a 140 diesel.

they have v8 used diesels at ebay.de in germany,they have some grunt

oldsouth - that is one very nice looking ride! Looks just like mine today!

96 S500, 285,000 miles. Owned it for 85.000 miles. Maybe I'm lucky. but the build quality and design are so good that its been pretty much trouble free. Previous owner replaced engine wiring harness. Besides regular stuff, front shocks and rear spheres, throttle body (wire insulation). and radiator (fan coupling failure. I know the newer stuff is great, but this is still impressive. Has factory refrigerant (!). MB says transmission fluid for life. wonder if they knew they'd run this long. System was open when the radiator blew so I drained both transmission and torque converter. Was black as coal, feel better. Yes, the radio pots and tuner finally failed. but the Crutchfield CD/bluetooth/AUX works fine. Sure. if the motor, trans, or wiring goes, it will probably be the end of the line, but so far so good, low maintenance.

It would probably be a good idea to go ahead and change the transmission filter too.

The thread keeps going . . .
 

I got tired of my '94 S500 coupe just sitting in the garage. Last year, I believe I put on apx 300miles!!

It's Nov, 2019 and this thread keeps going! .. Like the C140!

I've driven my ’94 S500 coupe for 20 years . . . and it’s now 25 yrs old. It’s been the most reliable Mercedes that I’ve ever owned and the maintenance costs have been low. :)

The last few years, the car mostly sat in the garage . . . until I got a 'spark' to get her back into top shape.

My last post in this thread was with 119K on the car . . it's now 126K. These are the repairs/improvements made since the last post . . .

1) Fixed the wiper blades for both windshield and headlights; $30
2) Radiator flush using just distilled water; $30
3) Oil change + filter; $75
4) Replaced poly-belt; $40
5) Replaced spark plugs (apx 10+ years old!!); $18
6) Replaced both side – distributor caps and rotors (apx 10 years old!): $150
7) Replaced both accumulators and hyd fluid flush; $600 incl labor - the diagnosis and repair thread is here; shows that you can 'repair' struts!
8) Found and repaired ohmic connection to Aux Fans . . . no low speed; $0 - Repair thread here
9) Replaced windshield washer fill tube and grommet; $30
10) Replaced 12yr old tires . . . w/ Michelin Primacy; $800 - Tire details here

Read all stored codes (DTCs) and there were just two (2) codes . . .

. . . . and it's still in the garage. :)
https://www.k6jrf.com/JRF_C140_today.jpg